UPDATE 4-ING receiving heavy interest for insurance unit

* Counting potential insurance buyers on "hands and feet"

* Will prepare IPO but consider sale options for insurance

* Net profit 499 million euros, vs year-earlier loss * Shares rise 5.2 percent

(Adds CEO's Bank of Beijing comments)

By Ben Berkowitz

AMSTERDAM, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Dutch bancassurer ING Group (ING.AS) has received strong interest in its insurance operations, but has not decided if it will sell them to a strategic buyer or the public, the company said.

ING Chief Executive Jan Hommen said on Wednesday he would have to use his "hands and feet" to count all of the companies that have contacted him about the insurance operations, which ING said on Oct. 26 it would sell as part of an aid-linked restructuring deal with the European Commission. [ID:nLQ54845]

Some potential buyers have already publicly expressed interest, including Britain's Aviva (AV.L), Spain's Mapfre (MAP.MC) and Poland's PZU, though Hommen has said he would like to see the operations remain together and that an IPO might be the best choice for that. [ID:nL6693127]

"We have plenty of time, we're not in a hurry, we're not a distressed seller ... we will do it in a quite orderly fashion," Hommen told reporters on a conference call.

He later told analysts he was not in active discussions with any buyers and that the "normal path" would be to prepare an IPO for the unit, but that ING would then weigh an offering against all other exit options.

He also said the company's thinking was not being affected by the Nov. 3 IPO of Dutch insurer Delta Lloyd, which priced at the low end of expectations and fell sharply thereafter. [ID:nL3529121]

Hommen, known for his tireless work ethic and aggressive eye for costs, was tapped in January to replace ING's previous CEO after the financial group's Oct. 2008 bailout. [ID:nLQ86379]

SHARES RECOVER

ING shares rose 5.2 percent to 10.045 euros by 1125 GMT. The stock lost 27 percent of its value in the three days after the split was announced but has regained some ground since.

At the same time it announced the split, ING also unveiled a 7.5 billion euro rights issue to repay some of its state aid. That rights issue, which could come with as much as 50 percent dilution, is expected to price in the 7.50-8.50 euros range, assuming it is approved at a Nov. 25 EGM. [ID:nLS675147]

Hommen said that notwithstanding the stock drop, investors have been "extremely positive" on ING's plans so far.

He also said ING was "very committed" to its investment in Bank of Beijing (601169.SS) and had no plans to divest the stake, which analysts have estimated could fetch about 1 billion euros. On Oct. 26 Hommen said ING was looking at its investments in China and trying to figure out what role it could play there.

Bank of Beijing executives have said since then they did not expect ING to sell its investment. [ID:nBJB003558]

EARNINGS IN LINE

Hommen's comments came as the company posted a third-quarter profit in line with the results that it preannounced on Oct. 26.

ING posted a net profit of 499 million euros ($747.5 million), compared with a loss of 478 million euros a year earlier. Underlying net profit at the bank was 264 million euros, and 514 million euros at the insurance side.

The company cited strong interest income and lower costs at the bank as the primary driver for the quarter, plus some favourable market impacts in the insurance unit.

"Earnings in the banking activities that will be retained, were quite resilient," said KBC Securities analyst Dirk Peeters in a research note. SNS Securities said the commercial result was strong, and Evolution Securities said the company's core Tier 1 ratio was stronger than expected. ($1=.6676 Euro) (Reporting by Ben Berkowitz; Editing by Hans Peters and Jon Loades-Carter)